​Panama ex-dictator Noriega begs for forgiveness over military rule

Manuel Noriega, Panama's former strongman (Reuters/Panama's Ministry of Government and Justice) / Reuters

In his first interview with the media since 1996, Manuel Noriega, Panama’s imprisoned former dictator apologized to the nation for the actions of the military regime which ruled the country for several decades.

In an interview with Panama’s local Telemetro channel, Noriega
read a prepared statement, in which he asked his countrymen for
forgiveness and said that his decision to offer an apology was
the result of consultations with his family, the Church and his
own conscience.

“I am asking for forgiveness from all the people who were
offended, affected, hurt or humiliated by my actions or those of
my superiors in compliance with orders, or those of my
subordinates,” Noriega said.

He also emphasized that was not motivated by any personal
interests but solely by an aspiration to put a termination to the
military regime era led by several military officers for two
decades which resulted in the devastation of the country and
deaths of hundreds of its citizens.

“I want to close the cycle of the military era as the last
commander of that group asking for forgiveness,” Manuel
Noriega added.

However, he refused to comment on any specific abuses committed
by the regime including the actions that led to the disappearance
and murder of two his prominent opponents. He also avoided giving
direct answers to questions asked by the interviewer.

“I have come here today to express the idea of pardon before
the alter of my conscience,” Noriega said, adding that he
did not want to distract from the “solemnity” of his
statement by going into specific details of any events occurred
during the military rule.

He described himself as a “friend of God” adding that he
was “totally in peace” and his strength was
“divine” one.

Manuel Noriega was an officer in the Panama military, ruling the
country as a dictator from 1983 to 1989 before his overthrow that
came as a result of a US military invasion. After the invasion
and the end of his rule he was brought to the US and convicted of
drug trafficking and racketeering in 1992, as he had been a
central figure in the cocaine trade in the 1970s aiding the drug
traffickers.

He served time in the US jail until 2010 when he was extradited
to France, jailed for seven years and was then convicted in
absentia in Panama to which he returned in 2011. He is currently
still serving a 60-year sentence for murder, embezzlement,
corruption and other crimes connected to the former military
regime.

Despite being 81 years old, Noriega appeared to be in good
health. He has never appealed for any changes in measures of
restraint, although his family and lawyers have requested house
arrest instead of imprisonment on medical grounds.

The public reaction to Noriega’s apology was mixed with many
surprised by the apparent capitulation of the famously stubborn
strongman. However, others saw it as Noriega’s attempt to escape
imprisonment and to finish his sentence under house arrest, as
reported by the Guardian.

“The problem with Noriega is you can never distinguish
between what’s true or not,” said Richard Morton Koster, an
American novelist who lived in Panama for many years an wrote a
book about the Torrijos-Noriega dictatorship, as quoted by the
Guardian.